College graduates and employers agree on the skills required for entering a new job but diverge on how proficient new graduates are in those abilities, according to a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Graduating students responding to a recent NACE survey cited communication, critical thinking and teamwork as the three most important competencies for a job candidate to be considered “career ready.”

Employers, in a separate study, identified the same three career readiness competencies at the top of their list.

Conversely, when asked to rate their level of proficiency, employers and graduates held different opinions.

The report found that graduates gave themselves the highest marks in teamwork, professionalism, and communication and consider themselves very or extremely proficient in all three. On the other hand, employers rated new graduates highest in their ability to work with technology, their understanding and appreciation of equity and inclusion, and their teamwork skills.

“When asked to rate new graduate proficiency, employers deemed new graduates as very proficient only in the technology competency,” said Shawn VanDerziel, NACE executive director. “While they didn’t give new graduates poor marks in the other competencies — their ratings fell in the ‘somewhat to very’ proficient range — it is clear that there is a disconnect between what students think they have to offer and what employers see.”

“One of the reasons we see this disconnect is that many students don’t understand how their college experiences relate to the competencies. As a result, they aren’t very good at demonstrating that connection to employers on their résumés or in interviews,” said VanDerziel.

The report draws data from 157 employer responses from NACE Job Outlook 2022 survey, conducted from Aug. 18 to Oct. 1, 2021. Student data included responses from 2,140 graduating seniors participating in the NACE’s 2022 Student Survey, conducted from Feb. 22 to May 15, 2022.